When seeing a doctor it might seem like a huge waste of time to go in for an appointment and wait, just for them to tell you that they need you to take some lab tests before they can tell you anything. Why not just talk to them on the phone, and have them point you to lab testing facility, take the lab test, check in on the lab tests online, and discuss again when the results are in? Luckily, you can do just that by using a telehealth platform to call a doctor where you can get questions answered, prescriptions and lab tests ordered, get second opinion consults and much more. These can save lots of time and money for both you and your doctor.
Even if you would like to talk to your doctor in person it would help to be able to check lab results online to avoid a follow-up visit if they are negative (which can save time and money), or come in to office prepared knowing what to expect from your results. The benefits of being able to check lab results online aren’t limited to these examples and can be useful a variety of scenarios. According to research summarized below, checking lab test results online overall had a general positive effect on patients overall well being, reduced workload for doctors, and reduced overall cost of treatment. These positive effects were increased when discussions were had with the doctors beforehand.
We made this guide to help you unlock these benefits by walking you through the tools available to check your lab results online as part of our greater series on accessing medical records online which you can check out here.
Check Lab Results Online Using A Patient Portal
Portals or patient portals are a way to provide patients access to their medical records online. They follow a protocol laid out by government agencies to make medical data available to the patients they belong too. Using patient portals to access records such as hospital records can be tricky since you often need to contact your hospital to verify your identity near the time of your visit.
Luckily, for online lab results it is relatively easy because there are two major companies (Quest Diagnostics and Labcorp) which account for almost all lab tests done in America. Both of these companies let you create an account to access their portals by verifying your identity with your personal information such address, phone number, and last four digits of your social security number. This is usually gives you instant access to your lab results and legacy records stored electronically.
With an account at Labcorp and Quest setup you can view previous records associated with your personal info (address/phone) already in the system, schedule new lab tests, get alerted when lab tests are completed and ready for view, and view your lab tests as they are done on your internet enabled device in real time.
Since most Americans (patients and physicians) exclusively use Labcorp and Quest, this will likely cover all your online lab result needs. To get more specific information about accessing Quest lab results and Labcorp lab results online and their differences continue reading.
Quest Lab Results
Here I will go through the specific steps involved in setting up a Quest account and checking Quest lab results online:
1. Go to Quest Diagnostics lab results portal by clicking here.
2. Click ‘Sign Up’ then click ‘Register Now’.
3. Enter the required fields such name, phone, address to help Quest verify your identity and create your account and navigate to the next screen
4. Create an account name and password as well as create security questions for your account and navigate to the next screen.
5. Read and accept the ‘Terms and Conditions’, review your information, and submit your application.
6. Verify your e-mail address with the link Quest sends you.
7. Login to your account, and follow the instructions displayed to give Quest lab results HIPAA authorization to forward you records. This includes signing off your consent to forward you records through the portal and verifying your identity with the last four digits of your social security (optional) and some personal verification questions.
8. Click on ‘Lab Results’ on the dashboard to view your old lab results or check here when you’re expecting a new lab result.
9. If your past lab results don’t automatically show up you might have to provide some additional information like your physicians name and address.
10. Explore the other available functions in the dashboard like scheduling a new lab test online in the ‘Quest Lab Appointment’ tab.
Labcorp Lab Results
1. Go to Labcorp lab results portal by clicking here.
2. Click ‘Create My New Portal Account’.
3. Enter the required fields such name, phone number, address to help Labcorp verify your identity.
4. On the same screen create an account name and password; and enter the last four digits of your Social Security Number (required by Labcorp but not Quest).
5. Read and accept the ‘Terms and Conditions’, review your information, and submit your application.
6. Verify your e-mail address by inputting the four digit code Labcorp just sent to the e-mail you provided.
7. Take the ‘Identity Authentication Quiz’ to further verify your identity. This includes some personal verification questions to make sure it is really you before handing over the records.
8. You should have been automatically navigated to the login screen, where you can now log in.
9. A successful login will send you to the dashboard of your Labcorp portal where you can see an overview of your Labcorp lab results online.
10. Explore the other available functions in the dashboard like scheduling a new lab test online in the ‘Appointments’ tab.
Conclusion
That wasn’t so hard was it? While this won’t show your entire lab results history, when I did this with my own personal info I was pretty impressed with how much legacy information showed up. I even had a record show up from all the way back in 2011.
Whether you want to find old records, stay in the loop of your current records, or use these tools to connect to telehealth and other digital health solutions getting started with Labcorp and Quests online portals are an important first step. Good luck with checking your lab results and ordering lab tests online! If you have any questions or need further assistance feel free to ask us below.
Very good site. The topics can be a bit difficult but your articles and home site explains very well.
I really agrees with you that we can save both resources but also get a better personal healthcare with Medidex.
being able to store my medical records online is useful, it saves me a lot of trouble
when I go see a new doctor.
I will follow you so keep up the good work
Thanks, yea the hope is that as these tools become more available and functional online it will save time and money; as well as making it easy to see new doctors and connect to different types of digital health solutions like telehealth.
Thanks for the comment!
Thank you for this article! I LOVE both Quest Lab & Lab Corp! They are both AMAZING companies!
We utilize this all of the time! Although, I have often wondered the steps that these companies utilize to ensure HIPPA Compliance?
Again, thank you for this information! This is not commonly known amongst people and will hopefully help educate people about ALL of their options out there!
Being big companies they actually do a pretty good job with security, since they are the ones in the limelight of regulators and hackers they have a lot of reason to protect your information. What these companies do is de-identify data by seperating the personal information and sending it to highly secure and encrypted servers. This method works pretty well, but is expensive. Luckily, Quest and Labcorp can afford it.
Hello and thanks for sharing, this is the first time that I have heard of this. I did not know that you could check your lab test online. This is really great information that will make it so much more convenient for people that can really save time. Your post is a great help and will help so many people.
Thanks, that’s what technologies all about, making people’s lives more convenient
This is wonderful! I had no idea this was even a possibility. We are living in a very technologically advanced time. It’s really quite exciting! I will follow you and will look forward to learning more as you continue. Thank you for taking the time to share your wealth of information with the rest of us!
Thanks, feel free to subscribe for updates.
Love this website! So much wonderful information that I had no idea was available. It will be nice to have medical records available in the future on-line, if we need them. I will follow your site and look forward to continuing to learn with you. Thank you so much for sharing!
Of course, thanks for checking it out and stay tuned for cool updates coming soon.